Icetera

Yup, certainly nailed it there. Dense cities will have smaller apartments while suburbs and counties designated as cities will have larger, due to more land availability. I would be curious as to where Henrico fits in and how much the combined Richmond/Henrico would skew this data.

I like some of the ideas and general goal but I strongly disagree on tearing down the old Firestone building simply for the sake of changing the Broad St. frontage to a single retailer. The smaller shops need that visibility and easy pedestrian access much more while Kroger is a destination retailer and will be fine set back a block. Theoretical Proposal Phase 1 - Rebuild Kroger fuel center (pumps could relocate but not underground tanks) integrated into a parking deck bounded by Lombardy, Marshall, Bowe, and the Marshall/Clay alley. Residential can be added to the upper levels, perhaps in a 'C' format creating half of a Texas Donut. Phase 2 - Rebuild Kroger on the remaining half of the parking lot. Loading and stock will be on the first floor (much like Publix Carytown). Add small retail spaces to Lombardy and/or Bowe St frontage. Kroger's main floor will be on floor two. The parking garage will then be extended over Kroger for X number of levels followed by the remainder of the Texas Donut with amenities filled in the now courtyard (pool, etc). Phase 3 - Extend W. Clay St. to N. Lombardy. Redevelop old Kroger lot into mixed use. Relocate the shops facing Kroger now to the new shop spaces and redevelop the property into mixed use. Phase 4 - Extend W. Marshall St to N. Lombardy. Relocate the shops at the corner of Broad and Bowe to the new mixed use building. Redevelop that corner into mixed use. Wishlist Relocate Lowe's Pro Services entrance to Lobardy side. Extend W. Marshall between Lowe's frontage and parking to N. Allen Ave. Redevelop Lowe's parking into structured parking and mixed use.

The Lombardy Kroger is 55k so that is probably about the right size as a Manchester one may not be quite as busy (though sure it serves Manchester now). I imagine a Kroger or Publix would also become competition with Farm Fresh for Shockoe residents. A Kroger Marketplace would be nice in the central city as we really lack general goods suppliers but I am not aware of any urban footprints. May be better to hope for a target (old Sears building please, Sauer!). Personally, I would likely switch to the new store if built rather than driving to Lombardy, though Lombardy always has the better fuel prices in the area for my monthly fill up (thanks walkability and Pulse). I used to be that guy that drove past Lombardy to Carytown Kroger (gotten crowded, no fuel, too much sprawl as stated earlier) or Laburnum Ave. Kroger (dated, lacks selection and Williamsburg Road traffic is obnoxious), but have since discovered that the popular culture of hate on Lombardy is mostly unfounded.

I doubt building a new one nearby would change that reputation as the reputation has more to do with being primarily full of VCU kids rather than an issue with the store itself. While being a little pricier (less support plus higher rent I am sure), Farm Fresh is also not all that bad and I think its bad rap comes from classism much like Lombardy Kroger.

VCU Health's Main Hospital building get my vote:

This is going on the leveled hotel property adjacent to the Super 8. https://henrico.us/pdfs/planning/2023/mar23/rez/rez2023-00003.pdf

Apparently we were co-workers! HDL was certainly an experience back then. Funny thing is, I only gained interest in employment at HDL thanks to following the development news here (or may have been RCW then). Ah, just realized who you are and likely who sent you.

Based on articles late last year, I think they were hoping to break ground on Phase 1 (the two buildings along Orleans) around Spring/Summer this year. Not being able to find bid requests for Phase 1 seems to be a good sign.

I believe Block 6 is expected once 8 wraps up, which appears to be close. The site is currently used for worker parking but not much for staging anymore. Fulton Yard is still very quiet though I saw some random leasing advertisement along Broad way down near the Ella (same developer/management company?). Later phases may be aiming for June 2024 ground breaking: https://www.constructionjournal.com/projects/details/9ea9354e342e4cd29150abb9c51e788d.html

Ya, looks like my retort went unappreciated (typo did not help)

Burger exists solely for our amusement.

Lot's of remnants of Fulton's infrastructure can still be found hidden away in the trees and parks if one strays from the paths, which is both interesting to find and sad to think amount what was lost. Walking through the now sterilized suburb is so depressing. While I doubt The Fan/Museum District ever saw plans to the extent of Fulton, I have no doubts that some large urbanization efforts were likely in play. Areas such as Devil's Triangle (not the greatest place in the day) clearly lost some chunks of their historic fabric to automobile oriented low-density developments as well as stretches along Main/Cary. How much of Broad was more like The Fan at one time?

Maintenance facilities may be a big hinderance here but perhaps a deal could be made with CSX via ACCA yard (Fulton location is best but no existing facility).

I believe it has been 21 occupiable floors plus about 5 floors equivalent of "crown." for some time now, or at least that is what I have had documented. The "5 floors" may be excluding the levels built into the hillside on Tredegar, which is fairly common when stating floor counts (annoyingly). Shiplock Views (listed at 7, but has 2 more slope) and 2525 Main (listed 6 with 2 down slope) are examples of this in the past.

Why would they need to sit there throughout construction? Would these not simply be used to display the design options and then be removed once determined?

Regardless of the position of the port, I suspect any bridge over navigable water needs to be high enough to allow navigation. Ships and barges do occasionally come up to Sugar Pad.

Given the population differences, I am sure most those jobs will be filled by Richmond and Chesterfield residents regardless. That could lead to improved transit to Petersburg. The Petersburg product looks leagues ahead of Richmond's so as much as I would love the money in Richmond, I am supportive of Petersburg on this one.

This is a better comparison as the Venetian has a massive footprint.

I do not recall that at all, just us creating our own proposed solutions.

That appears to be on Thalhimers' property and I am unaware of them having any involvement with CoStar's construction. They are part of the Diamond District project though, correct? Also perhaps for the lower floor of the mixed use building on Ellen (about where that port-a-potty is located)?

Somehow that convenience store has now become a 7-11 so that may not happen for some time. I have never seen one in that format.

I could not find that but here is some nice info on the area from LoopNet: https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/Maury-Street-Marx-Street-Portfolio/20896247/

Wow, I spent NYE 2015 in that house and friends were booted out later that year for development. I did not realize that the development still has not occurred, never-mind that the house is still standing.

I may not be the biggest fan of the tower as it looks now, but I agree with all of this. For any renovation, the innards would have to be gutted regardless. With some cladding and improved windows, perhaps even rework the non-structurally significant corners, this could be an absolute beauty containing the tallest residential units in the state (VA Beach Westin is only architecturally taller).

Apparently, we currently have 16 buildings taller than The Bartlett (264ft). Only one is residential, the CNB, and has the same number of floors but considerably less units. The Southern States building should squeak ahead of The Bartlett as well.